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Booper

Backing paper not releasing HELP!

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First post, been doing alot of lurking, learnt a TONNE of good info on here, thanks to everyone for all the knowledge they've shared on here.

My question after many hours reading many threads on many forums is im having customers complaining that the decals are not releasing very easily from the wax coated backing paper.

Some info;

Im using a signmax 24" cutter with the supplied chinese knockoff Roland 45 degree blade.

Im using FDC intermediate vinyl as well as the BGS vinyl that came with the cutter. I much prefer the FDC vinyl as it weeds alot smoother than the BGS stuff.

I have the pressure set to 130. If i set it to 120 the vinyl becomes VERY difficult to weed. Over 140 and it begins to cut into the backing paper unless its reflective. Knife offset is at 15. Any more than that I get strange little tips on the lettering that look like small tails. the higher I go the more prominent the tails get.

Im using a couple old plastic credit cards as squeegies, I dont go CRAZY on the pressure but I do rub them down

Im using rite-mask medium tack tape. When I squeegie it down onto the decal the tips tend to curl up but it seems to bond well with the decal.

After the customer complained about the decal not releasing off the backing paper I checked one I had sitting here and he was right, the fine details of the logo were not coming up with the transfer tape. I hit it with a hot blow dryer for a minute and that solved the problem but I dont want to have to tell every customer that orders from me to reheat their decals. The decal that I tried had been sitting here for a week or two, but when I cut a "fresh" decal and used the same app tape it came off nice and smooth.

So the question is, do decals get "stale"? Am I doing something wrong that would cause the decals to not want to release from the backing paper? Anyone have any experience with this app tape? I bought it from a very large professional graphics supply place that recommended it and sells tonnes of it to big sign shops.  Any help you guys and gals could give me would be HUGELY appreciated.

Many Thanks,

Ben

Toronto Ontario Canada

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I've had issues with paper-type tapes getting stickier as they sit around.  Clear does the opposite.  Which is rite-mask?

Either way, it's good practice to inform the customer to re-squeegee the tape before trying to remove it.  Also, the backer paper should be removed with the apptape down, pulling the backer paper back at as sharp of an angle as possible.  These two things combined should fix the problem.

Depending on what I am selling, I try to include a squeegee with the order.

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Thanks for the reply, rite-mask is a paper tape.  I'll try the trick you mentioned about pulling the backer off app tape side down and see if that helps.  Has anyone else had the problem of the decals bonding themselves to the backing paper over time?

Ben

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Guest sciondrgn

I think using a proper squeegee would help you as well.. App Tape and Vinyl is pressure sensitive so you need to apply firm pressure when you tape things up and that would also help

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I tried squeegie-ing the back of the decal and removing the backer app tape side down and it did the trick on the one decal I was having issues with. Thanks VERY much for the tip!

When you are talking about squeegies, are you referring to the ones that are like 3 for 5 bucks? Do they really make that much of a difference as opposed to the credit card?  The last time I was at the vinyl supply shop the only ones they had looked more like metal trowels that you would use to smooth joint compound on drywall LOL!

Ben

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I tried that Jay, my machine goes up in increments of 10's for knife pressure, at 120 it doesn't weed at all, at 130 it comes out smooth with no cuts into the backing paper, at 140 I can feel the knife cuts thru the back of the paper if I rub my fingers along it. And the blade itself isnt adjustable, its held in the blade holder with a magnet.

Ben

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I am having the same problem.  I am using BGS vinyl and high tack paper R-tape.  The design will not come up with the application tape.  I have tried back off the pressure on my cutter, peeling from the back, extreme squeeging on front and back and still no results.  I ordered the vinyl with my cutter so its more than 18 months old, could this be the problem?

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That could be the problem and it could just be the vinyl. I won a ebay auction for a few rolls of Used BGS that was left over. The stuff does not like to peel up unless I use High Tack tape. Med tack has a hard time lifting it.

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i had this problem once, i was cutting too deep into the backing paper. I also always use Ratape 4076 model tape, it's higher tack and works perfect.

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1st problem with this is the BGS, it's crap throw it away or line your shelves with it. FDC is pretty good vinyl though.

I bought a bunch of BGS when I first started, most of it is still sitting in the box. It's stiff unwieldy and weeds like crap unless you cut so deep that you score the backing paper and then it won't release fromt he back for application unless you have used high adhesive app tape, nad then only sometimes.  I only use it for free decals I give away, and occasionally to give a decal to someone I don't like. Even then the PIA it is to work with makes it not worth it most the time.

if your pressure isn't enough at 130 to cut through you need to expose a little more blade to make the cut complete. I cut my Oracal stuff at between 90 and 110 all the time, blade depth 1/2 the distance of a credit card.

Kevin

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